A group known as the Fund Education Coalition has stormed the main gate of the University of Ibadan (UI) carrying banners with inscriptions like ‘End ASUU strike now’, and ‘We stand with ASUU’, among others.
The association students and youths from different tertiary institutions were seen protesting in the streets of some major university communities in Nigeria to demonstrate their disapproval of the continued closure of public universities in the country as a result of the industrial action embarked by both teaching and non-teaching staff.
An attempt by the protesting students and youth to invade the University of Lagos (UNILAG was however thwarted by the security personnel who took over the situation before the protesters arrived at the Akoka main gate.
BusinessDay gathered that the students and youth decided to demonstrate on the streets of Nigeria because there seems to be no end in sight to the ASUU strike.
Read also: Osinbajo appeals to ASUU to call off strike
The Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN) had recently mobilised other stakeholders in the country’s education sector to demand the “immediate reopening of Nigerian universities.”
The journalists in conjunction with concerned stakeholders including Concerned Parents and Educators (CPE); Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ); National Association of Parent Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN); and Human Rights Advocate, Jiti Ogunye among others walked from Lagos Television (LTV) along Jakande road to the entrance leading to the Lagos State House of Assembly and Lagos House Ikeja.
Mojeed Alabi, the chairman of EWAN while addressing government officials at Alausa explained that the aim of the association was to present a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari through Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the executive governor of Lagos State on the continued closure of universities due to ongoing strike actions.
“We are concerned about the prolonged closure of public universities resulting in the students staying idle at home for months. We are also worried over the silence of the government on the issue,” he said.
Recall that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had on February 14 embarked on a 30-day warning strike which was later turned into a rolling strike on March 14, after negotiation with the federal government could not yield any positive result.
Later the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and many other bodies joined the strike.
